It symbolizes eternal life. Juniper, another evergreen, scares away all evil spirits and creatures. Evergreen trees stay green when all other trees have shed their leaves, they symbolize life which does not die. A good hope in dark and harsh winters.
This is one of those times I agree with you. Instead of calling it a "Holiday Tree", the governor should simply not have a tree. Supremacist bigots should not get state endorsement.
They were trying to indoctrinate me into their cult, as they always do. You seem to forget that it is they who go out recruiting. Their tax-free institutions are an abomination to my wallet, as it is I who must continually support them through property taxes which they do not have to pay. The revenues they generate are also free of taxation, yet if I generate revenue from assets, I pay a capital gains tax. The fact that there are many types of Christians in the world does not preclude the fact that they are racist. There has never been such a thing as an "atheist" regime. You're being utterly ridiculous. Funny how theists don't agree with each others beliefs while atheists have common disbeliefs. Since you probably don't believe in Santa Claus, does that make your non-belief a fairy tale? Wow! Full denial. How quaint. They did not act in the name of atheism. That is a fallacious argument. I am against cults of any form that appeal to the supernatural. Your cult is a disease of the mind as any others. It needs to be cured.
No actually it is the other way round, Christmas is a Great Christian Holiday that we are willing to share, with others, but it is still Christmas, now if you wish to set up other holidays do so, but Christmas is Christmas, the other holiday are other holidays, and Festivals and Seasons are not Holidays. holiday [hälə dā΄] n. < ME holidei, with shortened first vowel < OE hāligdæg: see HOLY & DAY 1. HOLY DAY 2. a day of freedom from labor; day set aside for leisure and recreation Means Holy Day.
As in most traditions that have gained world wide acceptance, local custom enters into the tradition, and every country has a gift giver in its traditions, so it would only be natural to adopted a recognizable character of that tradition. I Celebrate Christmas, as the recognition of the Birth of Christ, Jesus as we call him, I also Celebrate Christmas, with gifts to give thanks for the greatest gift of all Salvation, and I have no problems with the Fact that St. Nicolas delivers the gifts, as we are suppose to be of a generous nature, and good heart as Christians.
Like I said before, I don't care what it means to Christians, to me and just about everybody I know it's a time of year when people can get together and have a good time. Christians don't own December 25th, LOL!! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
You first said they were ramming their religion down your throat. Now you say they were trying to indoctrinate you. Just how were they trying to indoctrinate you? Were they tieing you to a chair and playing Silent Night over and over? Were they threatening you with torture if you didn't become a Christian? Were they inviting you to become a Christian? Were they simply telling you they were Christian? You have used some pretty strong words with no back up data. Reading your posts one would think that only Christians enjoy tax free status. News flash, Q, so do Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Hindus, and a myriad of other religions. Why is all your anger directed toward Christians? No, but the fact that they are of every conceivable race does. You are simply being silly with your statement. The facts show you are wrong yet you persist in your wrongheadedness by declaring, "Yeah, but they are racists anyway." [quote'There has never been such a thing as an "atheist" regime. You're being utterly ridiculous.[/quote] Any regime that makes atheism one of its central tenets is an atheist regime. It is you who is being utterly ridiculous trying to deny that Stalin and Mao headed atheist regimes. This paragraph makes no sense. You're right, I don't believe in Santa Claus. I don't believe in Snow White either, or Rapunzel. Those disbeliefs have nothing to do with my religion and you are simply trying to construct a straw man by indicating that they are somehow related. Wow! Not only full denial but full nasty denial on your part. How unquaint but typical. I guess you think they persecuted theist for some reason other than atheism. Want to tell me what that reason was? Just what ism were they acting in the name of when they persecuted the religious? You don't agree with my belief so in your arrogance you want my belief stamped out and 'cured'. I happen to not agree with your belief system but I am strong enough in my own beliefs that I don't need to see yours either stamped out or cured. It must be terrible to be so insecure and afraid of people who think differently than you that you feel the need to have their belief systems destroyed.
The tactics used by evangelists to recruit are not as well known to me as they might be to you, and differ from cult member to cult member. It is irrelevant, unless there is a point to your rant. I understand that. It is just that there are far more Christian institutions littering the landscape than anything else. Of course, that depends on where one lives, doesn't it? How little you know of your cults past: http://www.human-nature.com/nibbs/01/ogilvie.html http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/aah/sierichs_12_4.htm http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/misc/flannery.html Utterly ridiculous. An atheist regime has never existed. Stalin and Mao supported communist regimes. Of course they're related, none are demonstrable beyond ones imagination. The fact that you believe one fairy tale and not another does not preclude the fact that they are all fairy tales. Communism. It is necessary to replace gods with the state in order for communism to work. This has nothing to do with atheism. Theists rarely, if ever, get that. Your belief systems are dangerous to mankind, that is a fact. Your demonstration of ignorance and denial on this thread is evidence of that fact. Clearly, some education and critical thinking skills on your part might remedy that.
